The St. Louis Blues and GM Doug Armstrong are working on a new contract extension, as reported by Jeremy Rutherford. Armstrong’s current five-year contract runs through the 2017-18 season.
#stlblues owner Tom Stillman tells The Athletic that discussions on a contract extension with GM Doug Armstrong have begun. We'll examine the situation in an article coming up later today @theathleticstl.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) December 5, 2017
Armstrong has developed competitive Blues teams throughout his time with the team. Though the Blues have yet to win their first Stanley Cup, fans should be pleased that he has created winning sides mostly free of ugly contracts.
Speaking of bad contracts, that’s one of Rutherford’s main arguments supporting the Blues and Armstrong reaching a new deal.
Since Doug Armstrong took over as #stlblues GM in 2010, there have been 105 buyouts in the NHL. The Blues are the only team in the league (excluding Vegas of course) to not have participated in a single one.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) December 5, 2017
The Blues have had their fair share of questionable contracts, but Armstrong has done a fantastic job preventing the team from getting too overexposed by bad deals. One of the worst deals (Jori Lehtera, come on down!) was spun off into a package that brought in Brayden Schenn, one of the current stars of the 2017-18 season. Compared to other teams, the other questionable contracts seem relatively tame and manageable.
No GM is perfect. Armstrong has had a fairly bumpy ride over the last couple seasons, but he has placed the Blues in a position to succeed both now and in the future. As fans have seen, the Blues are currently competitive. On paper, things look like they could be even better in the near future as some of the team’s prospects have been thriving and impressing.
The Blues should extend Armstrong. He may not always make decisions fans like, but he’s the best option and has proven he can assemble competitive teams while also obtaining strong assets for the future.
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